Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley will not be going for the NFL single-season rushing record held by Eric Dickerson. But regardless, the ongoing feud between Eric Dickerson and LeSean McCoy over Dickerson’s record seems to be going as strong as ever.
Last week, Dickerson spoke about the possibility of Barkley breaking his record, making it incredibly clear that he was rooting against Barkley in his efforts to break his record.
“These people who say, ‘records are meant to be broken,’ you ain’t got no record,” Dickerson told Jarrett Bell of USA Today Sports after the Eagles Week 17 win over the Cowboys. “You don’t have one. When you get those records, you want to hang on to them. No matter if it was in bowling and you had 30 strikes in a row, you don’t want nobody to break that. The fastest mile ever, you don’t want nobody to break that. Those are true accomplishments. You can always look back and that record’s been held for 40 years now.”
In response to this, longtime NFL running back turned FS1 NFL analyst LeSean McCoy called out Dickerson for “hating” on Barkley, saying that Dickerson should want the younger generation like Barkley to succeed him.
“Ah man, what a day, what a day,” said McCoy earlier this week on The Facility. “This is a straight shoutout to Saquon Barkley for getting 2,000 yards and potentially breaking Eric Dickerson’s record of 2,100 yards. It’s been held for about 40-50 years. As a running back, we want to encourage the next running backs. It’s all about next generations… It went to Eric Dickerson. Now it’s gonna go to Saquon Barkey. But, Eric Dickerson, you don’t feel the same way that I feel.
“Eric, I know you can hear me, but can you see me? Now, you talk about how Saquon Barkley should get a star behind his rushing record because it took him an extra game. So I did my homework because I love my running backs. My old heads and my young bouls. You, the old head. Saquon’s the young boul. And I seen that O.J. Simpson, the juice, love his game; he had the record in 14 games but you broke it in 15 games. So you had an extra game to break it like Saquon had an extra game to break it.
“My point is this, man: Uplift the young dudes, becuase records are meant to be broken. You paved the way for guys like Saquon to break the record. There’s gonna be a young kid, 30 years from now, 40 years from now, that’s gonna break Saquon’s record. As running backs, we gotta stick together because they’re always trying to break us down. Eric Dickerson, you should do better, homie. Stop the hating and more applauding. Saquon, get the record, stop playing.”
Dickerson appeared to take notice of this message from McCoy, responding in a post on Friday to clarify his stance on Barkley potentially breaking his record, even if it is now confirmed that Barkley will not be playing in the team’s Week 18 game against the New York Giants.
“LeSean McCoy, brother, know your football,” said Dickerson. “First of all, it’s Eric Dickerson. I love running backs; I am a running back. My favorite player was O.J. Simpson. I’ve always said O.J. did it in 14 games. I did it in 15. — one extra game. I would never hate on another running back. That’s not me. So, like I said, know your history about running backs.
“Of course, if he broke the record, I’m not going to lose no sleep over that. But am I cheering for somebody to break my record? No, I am not. I don’t think anybody does. If you have a record and you want somebody breaking it, that’s on you. I’m different; I’m old school. Do you know how hard it is to get a record? Very hard.
“I’m a Saquon Barkley fan. I never thought he reached his full potential in New York. I’m glad to see him in Philadelphia. I’m glad to see him get 2,000 yards. So don’t say I’m hating on running backs. If you know your history, look up what I said about O.J….”
It’s much easier for Dickerson to say that he is happy for Barkley to reach 2,000 yards after it’s been confirmed that he won’t be playing in Week 18 to try to break the record.
Still, Dickerson certainly doesn’t appear to be all that upset that the Eagles have opted not to let Barkley go for the record.